ESA - Support Group to WRAG Challenge

My wife has various mental health issues, mainly one of poor memory following extensive electro convulsive therapy a couple of years ago following a complete breakdown. She also suffers from fibromyalgia and had previously attempted suicide.

Due to my wifes memory problems I am deemed an appointee and speak on her behalf and complete all documentation.

She take various powerful medications which also come with their own side effects.

All of this is fully documented in a letter from my wifes GP to the DWP.

My employer allows me to work from home 2 out of the 5 days a week so I can be at home for my wife.

Following an ESA medical just over a week ago, and whilst I was at work, my wife on a rare occasion picked up the house phone when it range and it was the local job centre requesting that she attend an interview the following morning, at this point we hadn't even been informed of the outcome of the ESA medical.

I was at work in Birmingham, some 150 miles from home, my wife called me totally distraught. I had to take time out of my work to call the job centre.

The lady on the other end of the phone wasn't aware of my wifes conditions, just that she had recieved an instruction to call my wife. I wasnt very happy and my wife felt she had been forced to say yes to the appointment. My wife does not like any form of confrontation.

I don't understand why the job centre are not armed with sufficient information to support their clients effectively.

I have managed to defer all such appointments after calls to the job centre and DWP and have requested a Mandatory Reconsideration.

I feel the disconnect in supplied client information could be extremely dangerous, the blatant disregard for a clients safety and the poor decision making of the DWP.

Goodness knows what would happen to someone managing this process on their own, they must despair and feel very lonely. Something has to be done.

Now I have to take time out of work to support my wife and work on the reconsideration.

Interestingly the person carrying out the medical assessment was under pressure, we had to wait an extra hour as an assessor had called in sick, the assessor was very abrupt and to the point and felt as though a decision had already been made.

These guys are making medical and clinical decisions on the basis of a single assessment???

How is it the assessor can read a lengthy list of medications the patient is taking, but disregards the fact that the medication must be having a positive effect on the patient, but the question should be "how would you be if you stopped taking the medication"

Completely stressed out having to manage this and look after my wife and retain my job.